Secret Garden
by Aenlic
Summary: What happens when the person you had always looked forward to meeting, that very best friend of yours, dies in a plane crash? What would you be willing to do to save him? palletshipping complete


**Secret Garden**

He'd asked _him_ once, a very long time ago, what would happen if they grew up and forget. He'd seen all those grown-ups, the adults, who forget their promises, forget their dreams and childhood wishes, forget the calling of the yellow meadow, and how the pokémon could talk to them. He would insist to his sister that, _yes_, Farfetch'd had told him about a wonderful world just south of Pallet, where every single creature, big and small, lived their lives they wanted, but she had only laughed, and waved him off.

And_ he_ had shaken his head, saying that the two of them must not forget then -- this was something they would keep close to themselves, and they wouldn't forget, not ever --

But as they grew up, the silly songs that the Pidgey had once sang to them faded into non-existence, and when _he_'d asked him about the yellow meadow, he had scoffed and left _him_ behind, the promise they'd made a long time ago forgotten in the back of his head. The dreams, the wishes, the small heaven vanished in this eleventh year, and pretty soon, he'd nearly forgotten _him_ and the friendship they'd shared.

* * *

Cianwood. He'd never thought he would need to ever return to this place, not after his tutelage under the Gym Leader, his Master, and the battle he had fought against him for the badge. Gary stood on the edge of the island, the strong wind toying with the cape he wore at his shoulders, Blastoise by his side. He could see, from where he stood, the burning remains of the wreckage of the flight that was once called Hoenn 327.

"Toise," the giant turtle said, almost comfortingly.

"I know," he said, swallowing hard as he called his pokémon back inside the ball. He clenched his fists and walked through the town -- unsurprisingly empty - wove through the well-memorised alleys until he arrived at the scene of the crash. The plane had crashed headfirst into the ground, thereby dashing the hopes and of there being any survivors. It had been hours, but there were still bodies and _oh god_. Oh god -- in all this wreckage… Gary knew his body had to be in there somewhere.

He walked forward, and one of the police approached him, with what appeared to be a checklist in her hands. Gary opened his pokédex, which displayed his picture and announced his name -- _the grandson of the renowned Professor Oak_. He tucked it back inside when Jenny smiled weakly and ticked what must have been his name off her list and he followed her into a tent.

"Gary… Oak?" the lady sitting inside asked, a pile of paper on her table, unarranged. If he hadn't known better, he would have offered his opinions that this place was a dump. Even the lady's hair was mussed up, as though she had pulled at it before he had arrived. "I'm sorry, but we still couldn't find the body of Ash Ketchum, passenger 723."

He sat down on her offer and stared at the papers in front of him and froze at what he saw. Passenger 724, Aria Belos. Gary had known Aria, a small girl with a tiny sadistic streak at she battle alongside her Butterfree -- a carefree spirit, a girl who had lost in the early rounds of the Johto League… He hadn't known that she had gone to Hoenn, but he did remember her talking about a family and two sisters back in a far-off region…

"It's," he said, "a tragedy."

The lady opposite him looked worn out, but she smiled and nodded as she pulled out a piece of paper from the entire stack. "Trainers, so many of them, dead… Missing. Deceased." Her lips trembled, and for a while, it seemed she looked_ almost _apologetic. "I… Was Ash Ketchum a close friend?"

"A family friend," he agreed, softly. "We were… childhood friends." A long time ago.

"A-and his family?"

"Mother," Gary said, shaking his head. "She collapsed when she saw the news. Ash's father never returned."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "This… should never have happened. Hoenn 327 is a secure flight -- was… It was…"

"Officer Adele!"

They both looked up, as a man entered the tent, his face grim and though he perspired and panted, he said, "We've discovered intruders in the crime scene! Team Rocket!"

* * *

Over the phone, his grandfather's face was a mask of solemnity. "_What_?" Gary asked, unable to believe his ears. The background sounds coming from the televisions inside the pokémon center prevented him from hearing the older man's words clearly, _but was his grandfather gesturing for him to turn around? _A frown on his face, Gary turned and gaped in surprise at what he saw.

"The air flight Hoenn 327 has crashed landed onto the banks of Cianwood early morning today, at around seven thirty-five am," the lady on the screen said, a grim smile fixated on her face. And though she carried on, Gary found her words fading to the back of his head as the flight number repeated and echoed inside his head.

_Hoenn 327..._

"But that's -" he said, turning to his grandfather, shaking his head. "That's…" _That's Ash's flight._ The shaking of his grandfather's head, the pale and visible tear stains on his cheeks, all of it… Gary swallowed as he turned back to the television, where numbers were now displayed, indicating the casualty rate, the names of the bodies found and identified and -- _the missing bodies._ The ones who wouldn't be identified.

Even from where he stood, Gary could see the long list of names; he had always had perfect eyesight, after all, and… "They," he started, "couldn't find his body?" It had all disappeared in one second. Just yesterday, just yesterday -- the night before, he had been on the phone with Ash. And they had laughed, they had joked, their old friendship rekindled after he'd lost to him back in the Johto League. He would have started to make his way back to Pallet today, a reunion they would share before both headed for their own separate paths and ways.

And, yet…

"I thought…" his grandfather started, and Gary turned back. "I thought you'd like to go in Ash's mother place to identify his body. She…" The old man folded his arms and sighed. "She's taking it very badly. Ash was --"

_Ash was the only family member she had left._

"I'll go," he said. "I'll go."

_Because I need to make sure that he… That Ash is really gone._

* * *

Team Rocket. He _should_ have known better, really -- who else but Team Rocket would be behind a crash of a secure flight. Hoenn 327 had been well-known and famous for being the most well-protected plane, and Ash had been delighted that the ticket he'd gotten had belonged to that flight and --

He was furious. Gary stood up and ran, pushing the man out of the way as he headed back into the sun, and he heard the familiar voices of the annoying Team Rocket members that bothered him every once in a while. Jessie, James and the mascot of theirs -- that talking Meowth they shared. They were really there, in the middle of a whole group of police, wearing some ridiculous outfit that wouldn't have lasted any normal person for a few hours out in the sun.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

Gary noticed dryly how all the officers looked rather bored, having heard the motto so many times before. He stepped into the ring, much to the surprise of everyone watching, and even Team Rocket looked rather shocked.

"E-eh!" Jessie said, then she frowned. "That's that…"

"Professor Oak's grandson!" the three of them chorused.

"Eh, why would Professor Oak's grandson be 'ere for, meowth?" The white cat pokémon asked, and Gary could feel the side of his eyebrow twitching when Jessie and James both looked as if they were starting to seriously ponder such a question.

"You don't think…" James started.

"Maybe…" Jessie continued.

"He came here to beat us!" the three of them announced together.

"What are you doing here, Team Rocket?" he asked, restraining from picking a pokéball off his belt to finish them like he always did normally. If Team Rocket really made the plane crash, they had _a lot_ to answer for, and they would pay --_ pay for making Ash die, pay for snatching the last of Delia Ketchum's family._

"Eh… Er," James said, looking around. "Meowth, have you found it?"

"Lookin'!" the cat called as it dug into the dump.

"Eew, blood!" Jessie called out. "Hurry up, Meowth! We don't have all day -- _just hurry up and_ --"

"Found dit!" Meowth held up a bag, and --

It was _his_ bag.

Fingers clenched at his side. They were holding his bag, something that rightfully belonged to Ash's mother, a memento of her dead son -- Team Rocket had been searching for it, and they now took it, and…

"Give _that _back," Gary called out, stepping forward. He didn't know what expression now hung on his face, but he knew he was angry, and from the scared trembling faces of Team Rocket, it seemed they knew it too.

"Well, no way!" James called out. "We were supposed to retrieve it and then --" Meowth pressed a paw against his mouth and the older man choked. "Hey, Meowth! What was that --"

"Not supposed to tell anyone 'bout our orders!" the pokémon reprimanded him and James looked, for a while, sulky.

Jessie laughed. "Well, we're not going to give it --"

"It belonged to Ash," Gary reasoned. "And now that Ash is gone, it belongs to his mother. She needs his old things, she --" _They looked guilty,_ Gary thought, as he took a step back. Team Rocket, the three of them looked guilty, and Meowth even looked as if he was trying not to cry. "She needs his bag," he finished lamely.

"Okay, okay! We'll give --"

"The twerp is gone?" Meowth perked up suddenly. "But --"

Jessie blinked, and for once, Gary stared at the thoughtful expression on her face. "Hey…"

"You don't think…" James added.

He frowned when the three members exchanged looks. "What do you --"

"Team Rocket!"

Gary winced when the three members flinched at the sound of that voice. He _knew_ it. Officer Jenny was here, with backup in the form of many, many well-trained pokémon. Just when he was about to get more information from Team Rocket too and --

"Eep!" Jessie cried. "Meowth, the balloon!"

It was strange, how quickly they moved this time, how they escaped on the balloon without a single scratch, how they didn't blast off this time -- Gary yelled after them. _Give the bag back, give the --_ He summoned Skarmory and was just about to hop on his pokémon when something - _somebody_ - pulled him back.

Gary turned around in annoyance, and blinked when he saw the lady holding on to his elbow, a familiar bag in her hands, and finally, he saw the name tag that was pinned onto her clothes, above her chest - _Officer Adele_, he read. "Wha-"

"They left the bag behind when they escaped," she said, her lips pursed. "And… there was a note. I read it, but..."

"A note?" he asked, curious and opened the small piece of paper she handed him. It held a small thick handwriting, hurriedly scribbled and the message chilled him.

_Passenger 723 had never entered the plane. The twerp is in Viridian. Team Rocket._

"Wait, _what_?" Gary asked. No, if Ash had never entered the plane… Why hadn't he contacted anybody? His mother was worried, his pokémon were depressed and -- _all of it… Why had Team Rocket known?_

"I… asked Jenny to check with the HQ back in Hoenn, and the message we received was that, yes, passenger 723 _did_ check in, but it seemed… he never came back after the stopover."

"You mean --"

His mind worked fast. If Ash _never_ came back after the stopover, if Ash _hadn't_ been on the plane when it crashed…

Ash was alive.

Alive, and…

In Viridian.

"_Kidnapped_."

* * *

On first thought, he'd reckoned it was a joke. He _had_ been in Vermillion, but the thought of a cruise had put him off; really, though Gary tried, he hated materialism even though his _girlfriends_ were always after it. He had been there, part of the crowd who had watched the survivors come in, his _girlfriends_ insistent on making sure that the people they knew were safe. He had been curious, watching Officer Jenny tick off names after names, until five boxes were left unchecked.

Ash of Pallet. Misty of Cerulean. Brock of Pewter. Jessie and James of goodness-knows-where.

Gary could not believe it. His rival, his childhood friend -- dead, and gone, just like that. A ship sank -- what were the chances of that? In the middle of the night, he'd walked out of the pokécenter, and with Wartortle, searched the entire area -- but there had been nothing, _nobody_, in sight.

He had left him for dead.

Until they had encountered the very next day, on the beach, Ash was the organiser of some swimsuit competition that his 'girlfriends' wanted to take part in, He had sighed, and given in(laughed at how Team Rocket made their entrance, and, really, were _those_ real?), and rehearsed the speech they gave him -- his grandfather's face was a funny sight, and Gary had to bite his lip and turn his back to avoid laughing aloud with mirth and _relief_. Ash was alive.

Still alive.

…and now…

Ash'd died again.

* * *

They were children once, children who lived and played with pokémon in a place called the yellow meadows, a place of myth and legend. They knew not the names of those creatures they chased and tickled, but their calls filled their minds, and they would sleep, knowing how tomorrow brought another day of enjoyment.

And once, they'd thought they would always be forever.

They didn't know why, but slowly, the number of creatures who flocked to the yellow meadow to meet them ebbed.

The pink mouse stopped coming one day, and they missed how she would chirp and giggle and make bubbles for them to pop.

They hadn't really missed her; she was but one out of so many…

Slowly, the Pidgeys stopped coming. The Farfetch'ds moved away to another nest. The snake-like ones wriggled away and never came back.

And it was like this, that, finally, one day, when they held their hands in the yellow meadow, there was nobody at all.

You see, they were no longer children anymore.

* * *

The ropes cut into his skin, and if it isn't for the gag he feels in his mouth, he knows he will have cry out from the pain. His hands are tied up behind his back, and a blindfold around his eyes. He doesn't know why he's here, or why they have captured him.

He remembers the flight --

He had been getting off. And something, somebody, had pressed something damp against his face. He had struggled, tried to push the person away, tried to call for help, but nobody had spotted him, nobody had come to him.

He had heard voices, murmuring.

"…should been asleep for… days…"

"…chloroform… too much of… kill him…"

Kill… The word enters his head drowsily. They wanted to kill him, he is at their mercy, he can do nothing while his limbs are bounded. He has never felt scared like this before, not even during all those near death experiences he had whilst on his journey as a pokémon trainer.  
_  
At least… At least Pikachu's with… the Professor…_

Ash thinks this, and for the first time in his life, he hopes and wishes that somebody, anybody, will come… for him.

* * *

Gary would never have thought Viridian would ever prove a welcomed sight, not after his defeat in the gym. He slung Ash's bag over his back, the trainer's other five pokémon inside last he'd checked while he had still been in Johto. Hastily, he'd explained the situation to all five creatures, and luckily, they had trusted him -- he wondered what this meant, but chose to ignore it in favour of hurrying back to Kanto.

Of course, he had lied to his grandfather that Ash's body was still somewhere in there before he had snuck back. What more could he do?

_Y'know, Ash is alive, but he's kidnapped and I have no idea where he is so --_  
_  
That would have been_, he thought, _even worst.  
_  
But where could someone hide in Viridian? There was the Gym, and the new Trainer house…

_Tsk_. He'd never thought he needed to use this pokémon so early. Gary threw his pokéball at a spot not far from him, and the green feeling psychic stood by him. "Ralts, can you feel anything here?" he asked, holding tightly to the pokéball. "Fear, desire -- anything strong?"

Ralts stood still for a moment and her red horns started to glow. "Ra!" she cried and pointed at the Gym. "Ra!" A strange thrill escaped her lips, and she sounded… _worried_. Ralts, Gary remembered, could sense the emotions of humans, and if Ralts was worried, then there had to be something very wrong.

He frowned. He'd never quite liked or trusted the gym, not after the strange pokémon had defeated him before Ash'd won very easily. _But if there was a chance that Ash would be in there…_ The once-trainer gulped slightly before he headed for the abandoned building, Ralts walking by his side.

Carefully, he pushed the door opened, and froze when he heard it creak. But it seemed, the gym was empty. "Umbreon," he said, throwing out another ball. The moonlight pokémon stood in the middle of the gym, the rings of her body glowing. "Flash!" The glow grew brighter and brighter -- until the entire Gym was lit up, revealing what he had suspected - a totally empty abandoned area. Umbreon looked _displeased_ as she licked her paw, and Gary turned once more towards Ralts, who pointed at a door at the other end of the gym.

Quickly, he ran towards the door, throwing it open and --

"Ash!"

* * *

He hears footsteps, hears his name being called. He lifts his head, but his sight is blocked by the blindfold, and once more, he dips his head forward. He feels fingers touching his skin and he yanks himself backwards, as far as he can -- he hears a voice, talking to him. A soothing voice he can trust.

"Ash," the voice says. "Oh, god, Ash."

He feels someone fiddling with his blindfold, and it slips down to hang around his neck; he strains to see who his saviour is, but the light is too bright. The ropes around his limbs loosen and he finds himself free of it -- the gag as well. "W-who," he starts, though weakly and never gets to complete his sentence when he finds himself quickly embraced by his saviour.

"Oh, god. I thought you were dead."

How long has he been here, he wonders. But Ash does not ask that aloud, instead, he leans closer onto the warm body that holds him, the familiar smell flooding his senses.

He knows this person -- he knows he does.

"G-Ga-" he starts.

* * *

_Gary._

"G-Gary," Ash whispered and Gary stared at him in shock. The younger boy looked half-dazed, pupils dilated. He bit his lips as he brushed his fingers lightly against the other's forehead and sighed with relief and he felt no fever present. But it… Sedated, surely.

Umbreon and Ralts lingered by the door. He stood up, supporting Ash as he did, and recalled both pokémon, and then helped the smaller boy out of the door, into the sunlight and then --

"They're escaping!"

Gary cursed. And here, he'd thought they would have it easy. But the sight of numerous Team Rocket members running towards him said otherwise. One arm shyly placed around Ash's waist, he summoned Skarmory, the steel bird bending low enough for him to place Ash onto Skarmory's back, before he climbed on himself.

"Listen," he whispered breathlessly as Skarmory took flight. "Ash, hold on tight!" He wasn't too sure if the other heard him, but he saw how fingers clenched, tightening grip, and for an instant, Gary smiled until he heard the sounds of opening pokéballs. He turned back and cringed at the amount of Pidgeots chasing him. "Skarmory, dive low!"

Police sirens rang -- so many members would bring out a riot, but even though their trainers were distracted, the Pidgeots stayed on his trail, not giving in as they flew after him, until they caught up and --

Whirlwind.

It was a sneak attack, so quiet and sudden that Gary had not seen it until the very last second -- Skarmory could not have break on time to avoid it, and he grabbed Ash's arms, holding his best friend and once rival close to him, close enough to her the other's heartbeat beating so slowly, it seemed it was stopping and --

They fell.

It was a soft landing, on grass, Ash's body lying on top on him, limp and lifeless. Gary held onto him, clung to him, and quietly, weakly, rolled the other off him. He stared at the closed eyes, and willed the to open. As if he had heard him, Ash's eyelids fluttered open and closed again, his chest moving so slightly he could barely see it rise and fall.

"Ash," he said. "Ash…?"

Ash heard him. Ash had heard him, because Ash not tilted his head towards him, and Ash was smiling and crying at the same time, and in the next moment, Ash was hugging him and whispering words he couldn't quite make out --

"…came… for me…"

He held him.

Gary held his best friend as his best friend broke down and wept freely, and he remembered something, a memory tugging at the back of his head.

The field was silent, and there was nobody in sight.

As Gary held Ash and ran fingers comfortingly through the black hair, he gazed around the area, but he did not recognize this place. Slowly, the other calmed down and joined in studying their surroundings and suddenly, Ash smiled and --

"I know… this place."

"I know… this place," he tells Gary, pride in his voice. It had seemed familiar, but, now, he knows. "We've been here."

He's sure of it.

Once, when they were young. Once, where they still were best friends. Once, when they had played together, and watched sun rise and fall on this very meadow.

"Where?" Gary asks.

He frowns. "Don't you… remember?"

Gary shakes his head 'no'.

Ash does not understand, but he only nods. "The yellow meadow we played in a long time ago, remember? When the Pidgeys and Farfetch'ds and the pink mouse came and played with us?"

"Ash," Gary mutters, "what the hell are you going on --"

He blinks when Gary stops speaking and gently touches the side of his head, and Ash winces.

"You hit your head," his best friend explains, as if that says all. "Don't worry, it'll be alright. You'll be fine."

…but they really are. In the yellow meadow, the place of dreams -- that legend he'd read to Gary when they were both still children.

Ash coughs, and his sight turns red. He turns his head and coughs harder -- and the yellow meadow he'd always dreamt of turned red in front of his eyes. He doesn't get it. He just doesn't.

And as his eyes roll to the back of his head, all he can feel is the strong grip Gary has on his body and _a sudden longing… for…_

Gary was frightened.

Ash was acting funny, claiming the strange place they were in was one of those stupid childhood legends about the secret garden, some yellow meadow. He was relieved when he felt that bump -- a hit on the head explained why Ash was saying funny things, and he wouldn't put it past the sedation either.

But it wasn't just that.

Ash had coughed up blood.

And now, his best friend lay unconscious in his arms, sickly pale and perspiring far beyond what a normal human should. _He's sick_, Gary realised, distressed. Stuck in a place he knew naught of, he didn't know when the Pidgeots would find them, and even if he could call Skarmory out, there was no more hiding places for all of them, and then they would be caught.

Ash was _dying_.

He hugged him closer, and breathed into the other's ear, whispering words of comfort, of hope, of phrases he wasn't sure he had known -- _don't die_, he told Ash and added, _please_.

"Don't… die."

He didn't know why, but seeing Ash like that… It hurt so much to see him there, _suffering_, and being unable to help him.

Gary started to cry. For the first time in his life, since the death of his parents, Gary Oak of Pallet started to cry.

_Don't die._

Ash stirs.

_Please._

Something wet falls onto his hand. He wonders if it is raining.

But it never does rain in the yellow meadow.

It never rains, because the plants never need water, because there's a never-ending stream by the edge of the field separating it from the real world.

_He'd fallen into it once. He'd dragged Gary inside with him, and they had laughed, even though they were both wet, and they had chose to sun themselves on the meadows, one of the flaming horses coming close to them, warming them both with its flames._

_And when they'd gone home, they both caught colds, but it hadn't mattered…_

He feels drowsy. Drowsy like whenever he takes the medicine for colds. A voice at the back of his head rebukes him for not taking his medicine that morning before taking the flight. It sounds like May.  
_  
"I'm not so sick," he'd told May, even though she'd been worried. "I'll be fine."_

What was it Gary had said…?

_"I thought you were dead."_

He chuckles inwardly, bitterly, and wonders… if he's dying.

He doesn't mind. To die in the yellow meadow, surrounded by happy memories…

Damp.

His hand was damp.

But it isn't raining, so…

Is someone crying?

Gently, he lifts his head and sees --

Gary.

Gary is crying.

Gary is crying for him.

And then Gary sits up, noticing how he is looking at him, and Gary smiled, relieved, and he decided on the spot he likes that smile and --

_I know this._

He does.

* * *

He'd insisted it was an accident, but _he_ had never minded. It didn't hurt, _he_ said, even though he was bleeding and scared of blood.

I'm sorry, he said.

I know, _he_ replies, feeling faint.

I didn't know --

It's not your fault.

And _he_ had blacked out, leaving him conscious and worried. He'd stayed all day beside _him_, the pokémon in a circle around them, and they'd watched them both, concerned.

He was scared. He was scared that _he_ would die, and then he would be the only one to know of the yellow meadow, so he'd cried.

But _he _had awoken, and he had smiled.

And the strange thing was, years after --

It was he who had forgotten and _he_ who remembered.

* * *

It was with relief that, two days later, the newscaster announced to the entire world that the previously thought deceased Ash Ketchum of Pallet is alive, and now free of danger as he stays inside a unnamed hospital, for his safety. She went on to talk about his achievements, and how, Gary Oak of Pallet has foiled Team Rocket's attempts to --

Ash switched off the television and silently continued to poke at his food as Gary watched on.

"It was," he started.

Ash interrupted. "It doesn't matter. I was sedated."

Gary frowned, and tapped his fingers on the board which held Ash's food upright. "The meadow," he tried again. "We've been there before?"

Ash jerked a bit, but he nodded. "When we were children," he confirmed, tasting the food finally and giving a bland look. "I don't actually mind if you don't remember it… I only did when I saw the stream."

"The stream."

_Yes_, Gary knew the exact stream that Ash was talking about -- _the very same one they had stepped over_, at Ash's insistence, and in the next moment, found themselves in Pallet. Needless to say, they were spotted, recognised and spent the rest of the evening being thanked and hugged before they were both rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Ash'd nearly died in the operation room, but he had held on, like he'd promised, and…

And they were now together, in the same room; visitors barred, though Gary could have sworn he heard very familiar voices coming from outside, arguing with doctors and nurses, and if he hadn't pitied both Misty and Brock, he would have laughed.

And if he had, what with all the tension that was in Ash today, he knew the younger trainer wouldn't have minded losing a pillow as long as it struck him straight in the face.

"I… I really don't remember the meadow," Gary admitted.

"Like I said --"

"But," he interjected, as Ash stopped and turned to stare, "I remember being pulled into the stream." He smiled inwardly at the sheepish grin that developed on the other's face and Gary continued, "And I remember… what you said. What you said when you woke up that on that day I accidentally let you go."

Ash gaped.

Gary smirked, knowing how he held one over the other.

"Gary Oak -- y-you're… You…"

"Now, Ash, what was it again? What you said?"

He was flushing, and shaking his head, right to left and left to right, waving his hands about. "No, I didn't! I didn't! I didn't!"

Gary stood up and, with firm fingers, held the other's flailing arms. He leaned closer and closer until their lips met in a kiss.

"_I love you_," he whispered, and a voice inside his head -- Ash's voice as a kid, echoed his words. "I love you so much."

_And _he_ had smiled._

So _he_ was encouraged. "I," _he_ started, "I love you."

He froze.

And then he'd left.

And he had forgotten.

And Ash was hugging him, and crying all over again. "G-Gary… I-I," he stuttered and then they kissed again.

So engrossed they were, they didn't notice when Ash's mother and his grandfather opened the door lightly, looked into the room, smiled at each other, closed the door, lacing their fingers together and walked down the corridors thinking -- _It's soon enough_.

_if you are afraid of despair  
please come to my precious world  
the secret garden's here_

_we can fly away  
and we can talk heart to heart  
let's get to paradise with invisible wings  
someday our dreams will come true  
so we can find our way  
yes we can stay together now  
because there is hope for everyone  
the secret garden's waiting for you_

_there are so many flowers  
it's so lovely  
they stay in your heart  
yes forever more_

_you are my precious friend  
please come to my precious world  
the secret garden's here_

So one day, they returned to the yellow meadow, and though they were adults, now grown-ups, they believed and their hearts led them back into the yellow meadow. They recalled their childhood wishes and dreams, and reread all the legends and myths --

The pokémon all came back again to visit them; the Pidgeys and Farfetch'd, the pink little mouse they both now called Mew, and the occasional grumpy clone --

All of them.

In a yellow meadow.

In a secret garden.

_Theirs._

Happily ever after, without end.

_owari._

**Note:** And finally, a piece of my very own Palletshipping written. This piece came to be when I complained to a 'friend' about the lack of uniqueness in the entire Palletshipping fandom(save a few good ones), and she asked me to write one (for her, of course, since it was _her_ favourite pairing). This isn't really like my usual style, or the lack of it, and is based on one of the pokémon songs, its title the same as the fic -- sung by MADOKA, I believe? This song was looped a total of 74 times, starting from halfway through the fic -- when I realised how much the lyrics did fit. And yep, those italicized words up there **are** the lyrics to Secret Garden.

I enjoyed writing this fic, though I think I died somewhere in between Gary going to Ash's rescue and started writing them out of character(oh, and Team Rocket? I don't think I'll ever gather the courage to write you three again), but I think I _am_ proud of this fic and nothing anyone says will take it away from me.


End file.
